


Say I Will.

by dorkpatroller



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Marriage, lots of fluff, lots of smooches, niles needs reassurance at all times always, stargazing i guess, vows and promises and cute things
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-08
Updated: 2018-08-08
Packaged: 2019-06-23 21:40:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,207
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15615615
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dorkpatroller/pseuds/dorkpatroller
Summary: So if you take this man, if you take his body, his blood, and his heart to look after always, and you swear to always be faithful at his side as your prince and as your husband, then say 'I will.'





	Say I Will.

**Author's Note:**

> THIS WAS A LAST SECOND GIFT PLEASE DON'T BE MAD ITS NOT EDITED WELL.

It’s a not-so-quiet night. There’s a loud party going on at the castle, but Leo and Niles slipped away from that hours ago. No one noticed. He doesn’t imagine anyone will. By now most of the party guests are likely full of mulled wine. 

 

The sky above them is endless, like an ocean deep and blue but lit up by the glow of the stars Niles loves so much. The stars and the fireflies, that is, because little lights are hovering near the grass too. Grass so tall it tickles Leo’s ears and neck where he lays in it.

 

Niles takes in a deep breath beside him. It comes out again as a sigh. This will be his third sigh in ten minutes. Leo closes his eyes to the sky above them. Without any sense of hesitation, he curls his hand around Niles’s. Not a beat passes before Niles pulls Leo’s hand close to his lips and kisses his knuckles. “Is something wrong, Niles?”

 

“Never mind, milord. It’s nothing.” 

 

Leo bites his lip. Niles is often one to say that it’s nothing even when it happens to be something. He doesn’t speak his mind because whatever is on it, in his opinion, isn’t worthy of Leo’s time. But this will be different. This is a new chapter in their lives, and they’ll be starting it correctly. This time Leo pushes off his spot on the ground and rolls overtop Niles. Just like that, he's on his hands and knees over Niles, and he leans down to kiss the corner of his mouth. 

 

“Leo,” Niles says, and Leo knows it’s hard for him. He’s called him by his title for so many years, but Leo is thrilled simply that he’s trying.

 

“I wonder, Niles, if you know what it meant when that priest tied our hands together, today.” Leo watches him. He’s only startled for a moment… and then a tiny, lopsided smile spreads over his lips. 

 

“You mean during our  _ wedding _ ?” 

 

“I do,” Leo says. He shifts his weight to one arm so he can bring his left hand, the hand newly dressed with a golden ring, to open his palm where Niles can see. His palm is pink and sore where it was cut open during the ceremony. The matching cut on Niles’s hand overlapped his, he was tied to Leo with a sash, and when Leo said his vows he meant them with all his heart. “You see  _ I _ thought it meant my blood, my body, and my heart are yours to look after. Just as yours are mine.” 

 

“This is going to circle back to what’s on my mind, isn’t it?” 

 

“You’re my husband today, Niles.” Leo lays his palm gently against Niles’s face, He holds him there and this time when he leans in Niles leans up to meet his kiss with one of his own. “I’ll hear what’s troubling you, now.” 

 

Niles drops his head back into the grass. He blows a swift stream of air out of his mouth to blow some of his bangs out of his eyes. He looks  _ good _ today. Granted, he looks good every day, but today he’s wearing such formal clothes. It’s a rare treat to see him in a shirt and vest. Even the cape on his shoulders is shimmery-gold and decorative. It compliments Leo’s wedding attire. They’re two parts of a whole, figuratively and literally today and always. 

 

Niles holds Leo’s wrist but turns his head slowly to the side where he can kiss his palm. Not directly over his cut—he doesn’t want to hurt him. Just gently and to the side of it. “I’m not troubled. I was only thinking. I never imagined I would come this far. I thought my life was over before it began. I never dared to entertain the idea of marriage. At least, not before I met you.” 

 

Leo’s smile softens. Of course, he thinks he doesn’t deserve it. He always falls back into that habit. Maybe, if Leo works at promising Niles he’s worth it every single day, he’ll learn to believe him. “I hope you’re not having second thoughts? The time for cold feet has already passed.” 

 

“Not that,” Niles says. “It’s just that... I’m happy.” He lifts his arms and curls them up around Leos’ shoulders. 

 

Leo’s lips curl into a little smirk. “Oh? Well if that’s all it is I don’t know why you’re so reserved. Perhaps I haven’t been clear, Niles. I  _ love _ you. I always want to see you happy.” 

 

Why does he seem surprised, just a little, every time Leo says that? His eye always grows just a bit rounder, his cheeks always get just a touch pinker. This is hardly the first time. Or the second or third. They swore their wedding vows today. This is a love that has been lingering.

 

Niles’s arms around him are loose. He’s just playing with the ends of Leo’s hair and watching him. The tiny shock he always seems to feel vanishes and it’s replaced with something just as interesting to Leo. Honesty. The raw look of happiness and uncertainty and love splattered together across Niles’s face while he says, while he  _ admits _ , “I didn’t think I deserved a happy ending.” 

 

Ah, there it is. Leo supposes he already knew what Niles would say. He’s known him this long. He can read Niles like an open book, even when he tries to hide it. It’s a skill that comes with loving a man so much as Leo loves Niles. So he leans down and guides himself to kiss Niles’s lips. Then his jaw, then his cheek, and the shell of his ear. And while he’s there, so close to Niles’s ear, Leo says quite softly, “You deserve happiness more than  _ anyone _ . I won’t tolerate you thinking for even a second that you haven’t earned this love. Do you understand?” 

 

“Leo—“ 

 

“Consider it my last order as your liege, Niles.” Now that they’re married, now that Niles is officially a part of this royal family, he won’t be going out on scouting missions or dangerous tasks simply because he must. He must learn that they are equals now. Leo will protect his husband just as much as Niles has always protected him. And while he expects old habits to die very, very hard… he knows he can count on Niles to warm up to it eventually. “Or my first request as your husband. And for every day you wear this ring on your hand, I hope you remember, loud and clear, that our happiness is joined. This isn’t your happy ending alone, but ours, together.” 

 

Niles snorts out a quiet, calmer sigh. He smiles. He combs his fingers through Leo’s hair and then uses his hand there on the back of his head to guide him into another kiss. This one is more final. This is his promise, he’s sealing the deal. These vows are real, and perhaps more important than the wedding ceremony ever could have been. Leo isn’t saying this as some scripted verse. This isn’t a tradition. This is them. 

 

And so, with his lips brushing past Leo’s forehead in a gentle follow-up to that kiss, Niles says “I will.” 


End file.
